This invention relates to display poles and, more particularly, to support structure for a display pole which is readily attachable to a pre-existing shelving unit and is adaptable for different size shelves.
In present day supermarkets, the proliferation of different products has resulted in a shortage of product display space. Thus, within an existing supermarket, the amount of shelving space is fixed and, as new products become available, there may not be shelving space which is able to accommodate such new products. Many products are packaged so that they are mounted on cards or the like (e.g., in blister packs) which are designed to be hung from a hanger which typically comprises a thin substantially horizontal rod mounted to an aperture in a fixed support. These packaged products do not require a shelf for their display and it is therefore desirable to not utilize any space that could be used for shelving to display such packaged products. It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide structure for displaying such packaged products which does not utilize any shelving space.
Since the shelves are already in existence, and are somewhat standardized, it is another object of the present invention to provide such structure which "piggybacks" onto pre-existing shelf space without interfering with products taking up the shelf space.
Although somewhat standardized, there are variations among shelving from different manufacturers. It is therefore a further object of the present invention to provide such structure which is adaptable to such varying shelving.
There presently exist display poles which are formed with a plurality of longitudinally spaced apertures adapted for supporting the aforementioned product hangers. An example of structure for holding such a display pole in front of a supermarket shelving unit is the SpaceXpander.TM. system sold by L & N Sales Co. of Huntingdon Valley, Pa. This structure includes a pair of extension rods which are secured at their rearward ends to pre-existing slots in one of the stanchions from which the shelves are hung, the stanchions being at the rear of the shelves. The display pole is then secured to the forward ends of the extension rods by means of machine screws. While somewhat effective, this structure is disadvantageous in that it is difficult to install, especially to pre-existing shelving which has product thereon. This structure is further disadvantageous because in order to adapt to different depth shelves, different length extension rods must be provided. It is therefore a more specific object of this invention to provide structure which supports a display pole, is easy to install, and which adapts to varying shelving without requiring the replacement of parts.